Skincare 101: How to choose an eye cream

We want to help you make good skincare decisions, so here’s part 3 of our Skincare 101 series, with advice on choosing an eye cream.

Is an eye cream necessary?

First, decide whether you actually need a separate eye cream. If you don’t have any aesthetic concerns with your under-eye area and if you’re already using good medical-grade skincare and taking it up to under the eyes, you probably don’t need to bother with an eye cream. However, if you’re a little bit older and you have signs of ageing around the eyes like crow’s feet or crepey skin, or if you suffer from dark circles or under-eye bags, then an eye cream is worth trying.

The right eye cream for you

Look for one containing key ingredients relating to what’s bothering you – so:

• Something with retinol if you want to firm the skin and soften wrinkles.
• If it’s dark circles, then a vitamin C eye cream is a good bet.
• Under-eye bags are trickier because they can be caused by a few different things – if it’s fluid retention then an eye cream formulated for puffy eyes with a built-in massage applicator is a good bet. Usually, this type of eye cream will contain ingredients like caffeine or peptides which can help reduce puffiness.

…And unless you have particularly thin, crepey, or dry skin, go for something lighter in texture like a thin cream or a gel for better absorption, and always choose fragrance-free products around the eyes to avoid any irritation. 

Some of our favourite eye creams:

Elequra Eye Architecture

A fab all-round cream for the delicate skin in the eye area. It performed amazingly well in independent clinical tests, where the users had their crow’s feet wrinkles measured and all achieved 34% reduction in fine lines and wrinkles in 28 days. It contains lots of peptides to encourage regeneration within the skin. It also has lightweight hydrating ingredients to plump the skin with moisture and reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, and puffiness. £57.

iS Clinical Youth Eye Complex

We really like this eye cream for the thin, delicate skin around the eyes. Meticulously tested to prove its benefits a clinical study showed improvements in crow’s feet wrinkles, softer smoother skin, reduced puffiness and even improvements in dark circles (which is impressive as almost nothing touches dark circles).

Peptides help build collagen in the skin, reduce wrinkling, and develop skin that is thicker and firmer around the eyes so it’s less translucent, so underlying darkness from veins, or hollowing, doesn’t show so much. It’s also really hydrating which instantly improves the look of wrinkles. It reduces irritation and inflammation in the eye area too with vitamins to scavenge up damaging free radicals. £105.

Medik8 Crystal Retinal Ceramide Eye

This clever night-time eye cream is carefully crafted with top-tier ingredients like twin-encapsulated retinaldehyde, a patent-pending retinal stabilisation system and ceramides to deliver all-night moisture to the eye area while remaining gentle on even the most sensitive of skins – thanks to those ceramides.

Clinical evidence from the brand says it can improve signs of ageing around the eyes, smoothing the appearance of crow’s feet, visibly lifting and de-puffing eye contours and brightening dark circles by morning. £42.